Beauty and The Beast
by ThornfieldHall
Summary: Esme doesn't want to settle for Charles Evanson and live in her narrow minded village for the rest of her life. Carlisle Cullen sees his vampirism as a curse and has been locked up in a mansion in the woods for over 200y with Edward, Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper. One day, Esme's father goes missing. Time for Edward and Alice to try and play matchmaker.


_**O** nce upon a time, in a faraway land called England, a young pastor lived in the city of London. Although he was everything his father desired, the pastor bore hate in his heart for those who were different from the living._

 _But then, one cold winter night, an old vampire entered the city. The young pastor was determined to exterminate this source of "evil". The vampire warned him but after years of training it was too late for the young man to change his views. Seeing that he would never understand that not all vampires were alike, the vampire bit him._

 _The young man was left to die in the chaos that followed and prayed death would come soon. The young man was transformed into a red eyed creature of the night. Ashamed of his monstrous form, the pastor concealed himself in a dark cave._  
 _Once he learned to control his urges and accept himself for who he was, then, his curse was broken. If not, he was doomed to live alone… For eternity._

Carlisle was repelled and horrified by what he had become. Multiple times he had come close to throwing away his believes and putting an end to it. But neither starvation nor drowning worked. There wasn't a knife that could cut his skin nor a jump high enough that could break his bones. Close to starvation instinct finally got the better of him. His legs, now fast and agile forever, sprinted towards an unsuspecting deer. His red lips drained the animal off of its life force.

He felt revived while relief washed over him. He still didn't kill a person nor did he wish to. He yet had to become the murderous demon he was supposed to be. Maybe he didn't have to.  
An idea formed itself, as golden as his eyes would one day be.  
If he couldn't die than he could at least make sure his monstrous side didn't win.

 **~.~**

Esme Anne Platt was a curious and vibrant young girl who took pleasure in reading books and climbing trees. Each day, she helped her parents in the town bakery and each day a hunter named Charles came by. He was a family friend and mild mannered enough, but there was something in his behaviour that instilled suspicion and fear in Esme.

She was supposed to marry him one day, her parents were just waiting for them to start officially courting. But if it was up to sixteen year old Esme, the boy could wait a good deal longer.  
At four o'clock, Esme was allowed out of the bakery and ran towards the edge of the village. The boys just came back from their lessons.

'Callum, hye!'  
'Esme, how was your day.'  
'A bore of course, how was yours? What did you discuss today?'  
'Majority of it was maths and physics, nothing that would interest you.'  
'Is that it?'  
'Ach nae, last hours we discussed some anatomy.'  
'Did you make a lot of notes?'  
'So now it's anatomy too? I didnae ken that'd interest ya?'  
Esme shook her shoulders. 'Might come in handy one day.'  
'That's true lassie, now, let's find a nice spot to sit.'

They sat underneath the big oak tree, a place they came to a lot when they discussed his lectures. Nothing had hurt Esme more than having to quit school at twelve years old. She still had so many questions and things she wanted to know.

In her town there was little opportunity for women to learn things beside a craft and how to perform homely duties. The rich girls could go to boarding school and learn the usual set of accomplishments of well-bred ladies like arts, history, French and poetry but Esme was from an average family who couldn't spare the expense. She didn't blame her parents, she knew they needed the extra pair of hands.

The oak tree was her sanctuary where she could still learn and hide from the peering eyes of the town folk.  
Callum and her had been quite good friends in elementary school. But their real friendship blossomed after Esme's short school career ended and Callum proved himself to be a rare breed of man that wasn't scared from a studious woman. Since his parents rarely had time for him he jumped on the opportunity to discuss literature, poetry and everything else that interested her. And when it wasn't a topic Esme enjoyed to learn for herself, she still allowed him to rant about those courses too.

When she'd been fourteen, Esme imagined herself a bit enamoured with him. Mostly because he was her biggest chance at a life in which she could buy books and see a bit of the world. He hated the narrow minded village mentality just as much.

She thought he was in love with her too. Why else would he spend time alone with a girl about matters that to him, were just another thing he had to learn? The truth came out not long after. He was very passionate about his courses… And his teacher, the twenty-five year old town lawyer Duncan.

Esme was as much confused as him, for this year, his crush on the teacher had lessened a bit ever since seeing Moira who had come home for the holidays.  
'I just dinnae understand Esme. Is it possible to find them both equally desirable? They're just so smart and gorgeous and when they smile, it brings a smile to my face and- don't laugh. I'm in misery. What is wrong wi' me? Tis almost like those Spartans and their mentors from ancient Greece wi' Duncan. But Moira is just so- she takes my breath away. I'm happy that I at least have one friend whom I feel clearly about.'

At that he'd smiled at Esme, who smiled back. Not envying his position at all. In all these books they had discussed love was hard, painful and all-consuming. She'd never felt her heart pound when seeing someone, nor had she felt so attracted to someone she was just aching to get anything from them be it smile, talk or touch.

 **~.~**

That evening, the Evansons came over for dinner. Esme and her mother had been cooking for two hours straight and once they emerged from the kitchen to change their flour covered dresses, the family had already arrived.  
Charles had smiled sweetly at her parents, but had demanded where she had been that afternoon when he had visited the bakery.

'I was free, Charles.'

'But what do you do when you are free? Just sit around here being idle? Clean the house? I didn't see you around town.'

'You didn't because I wasn't.'

'I hope you didn't walk around by yourself.'

'Why? Who would harm me here?'

'It ain't right, it ain't proper.'

Properly unsettled, Esme took her spot at the table and remained as quiet as possible, letting the conversation wash over her.

A couple of days later her father left for a baking competition in hopes of earning the price money. It would be quite a long trip since they lived in a remote place in the hills of Scotland. Esme was hanging around the town border waiting for Callum to come back from school when his horse came rushing back.  
Esme calmed it and jumped on its back.  
'Come, love, show me where daddy went.'

The horse paraded her through the glooming hills and dark forest, further than she'd ever been before. Hues of red and yellow seeped through the blue sky as the sun sank further and further down. Fear creeped up on Esme as she startled at each sound that emerged from the tree branches and bushes.

 **~.~**

Dusk had set by the time Esme pinched her eyes to look at what kinds of black trees were in the distance. Prickly vines twisted around the dark branches… But it weren't trees nor branches. It was a cast iron fence. She drove up to the fence. The landscape came right out of a fairytale. The fence was overgrown with rose bushes, behind the fence there were bushes of gorgeous flowers in all the colours of the evening sky and old looking fountains. A magical place. For a second she forgot that she was looking for her father.

She pushed the fence open, the place looked abandoned judging by the garden. She just didn't get what her father would be doing here.  
The mansion had an eerie feel to it, a s if something was watching her every step. She looked up to the windows, but saw nothing.

'Father?' she called when she walked through the door. No answer came. The tiles were old, the golden chandeliers glowed dimly. Odd, why would nobody take care of such a beautiful place?  
It must truly been abandoned. 'Father?' She called again making her way up the big wooden staircase with carved figures.  
If it had truly been abandoned, there would have been dust, but that fact passed Esme by.  
'Father, are you here!'

'Do you happen to be looking for a man in his fifties? Greying here, unfashionable mustache?'

She shrieked and sprang aside.

'Oh, I thought the place was deserted! Sorry, I didn't hear you coming.'  
The bronze haired boy appeared to be her age, but he had a dignified air and the accent of an English aristocrat. She was in such trouble.

'I've been known to sneak up on people, I apologise.'

'The description you gave indeed matches my father. Has he been here?'

'Yes. If you want, I can bring you to him?'

'Oh please, if you would ever be so kind', she begged while trying to pronounce her words as clean as she could. There had never been a need for her to make an effort to pronounce words correctly, most town folks talked in a mixture of Gaelic and English. She hadn't been raised in Gaelic in hopes of marrying her off to someone more fancy, but when the family fortune dwindled and it became clear she couldn't be send to boarding school, their hopes had died. No dignified man wanted an uncultured wife.

She was a bit young perhaps, Edward reasoned. But she was a human, a pretty one at that. She cared for her family and to be honest Edward was about to give up hope for a human woman to drop by. He wasn't about to be picky when one literally stumbled through the door.

'Follow me.'

'Edward, what are you doing?' Rosalie hissed from a couple of rooms away. 'Maybe she is the one. The one who will break the spell.'

'I know which one you are talking about, but what are the odds?'

'It's worth a shot, Rose. I can't be stuck in this mansion any longer. I mean no offense, but it's getting tiring to look at the same faces each day. And one day, I will start feeling like a paedophile when I look for a mate. I'm already over a hundred years old. And I've been stuck here for the majority of it.'

'You mean you would still look for a girl of sixteen to twenty five and not feel like one already? Boy, you should talk to someone.'

'We can't all be blessed like you, Rose. You don't know how it feels to be alone for over a century. I mean, I can't wait around for my mate to be hit in the face by destiny by getting attacked by wolves and falling on our doorstep bleeding.'

Emmett laughed. 'Yeah, what are the odds? Happy I did though.'

Esme was still quietly walking next to him, unaware of the vampires talking. She looked at a couple of paintings. Some were very old and looked like the painting Callum had shown her of Henry Tudor. But it was of a honey haired and black haired couple. The next one was of a gorgeous and intelligent looking blond haired man. Some paintings were parts of the mansion and garden at twilight or dusk in magical pastels.

'So, you live here?'

'Yes, me and my family.'

'Your family?'

'I have a sister, Rosalie who is married to Emmett. A brother called Jasper and then there's Carlisle.'

Edward pushed open the door to a room. In a soft looking bed, between dozens of pillows and blankets, lay her father.

'Daddy!'

'Esme, my beautiful daughter, what are you doing here? You must get out of this place!'

'But- but I worried for you! I came to get you? How did you wind up here?'

'Wolves, they hunted me. I fell from my horse and ran here. I only just managed to slam the gate in their face but I got some ugly scratches. When I turned around there was a-'

Her father looked behind her. She turned around. Edward was giving her father a particularly dark look.  
'What did you actually see, Murtagh? I think you were quite scared from being chased and more than a bit dizzy from adrenaline.'  
'It was an animal Esme, with big red eyes and fangs. It bit me and next thing I knew I was in this bed and a man told me to stay here until I was better.'

'Why wouldn't you be able to ride now?'

'Your father has lost a significant amount of blood. He would be exhausted soon, and could see black spots every now and then, which isn't ideal when you ride in a forest which has lots of obstacles.'

Esme turned around and came face to face with the most handsome man she ever met.

This would be perfect, Edward decided gleefully.

'Are you a doctor?'

'No, but I'm very interested in medicine. I'm Carlisle, Carlisle Cullen.'  
'Esme Anne Platt', she smiled.

'Is there any way to know when he's able to ride? I left without warning my mother, she must be worried.'  
'It's evening, miss Platt. It wouldn't be wise to leave now. The forest is full with predators.'

Edward smothered a chuckle.

'There are ways, actually, I was just about to ask mister Platt to come down for dinner. If he can walk and doesn't see spots, he's good to go. I can't press an exact time on it.'  
'Because every body is unique and the amounts of new cells and the time it takes to renew blood cells variates for each person?'

'Indeed', the pale man decided, obviously surprised. Edward threw him a smile from behind her back. The older vampire ignored the boy.

'What do you study, miss Platt?'

'I don't. Women don't study where I come from. Well, you could learn things like drawing, singing and playing the piano but I don't do any of that. I'm just a bit curious.'

She assisted the doctor in helping her father upright. They went downstairs. The table in the dining room was made for two.  
Carlisle silently thanked Alice.

'Sit down, please, be my guests.'

'Aren't you hungry, sir?'

'No, I have already eaten with my family in private.'  
How odd. But Esme quietly accepted that some families were just a bit more private than others.

'I heard your have quite a large family.'

'Yes, this place is big enough for all of us.'

'Do your parents live here as well?'

Carlisle was about to say he was almost a father figure to the others here but Edward shook his head from the corner of the room. Once he established himself as a father figure of sorts, albeit a very young one, he would probably be seen as such instead of a possible suitor by Esme. Edward rummaged through her head while looking for something that might bring Carlisle and her together.

He needn't look far. The girl was comparing him to every other man she ever encountered and was actively searching for the qualities she wanted in a man. It would be a walk through the park, Carlisle almost checked every box…. Except for the fact that he could never give her children or grow old with her. Why did they always want children? Edward was ready to ram his hand through a wall. It was almost perfect. Almost. He silently cursed while he was chatting with them over dinner.

'What did you suspect? Babies are the living proof of two persons their love for each other. It is them adding something to the world, giving it love, and trying to raise it as their idea of what a human being should be. Something they can lather with attention. Have you ever held a baby? You never knew how wonderful it felt to hold something so fragile and make it smile. I'm coming to check her for myself, she has a nice voice.'

Seconds later, Rosalie arrived in a stunning blue gown that set of the blonde of her hair.

Esme's eyes were immediately drawn to her. 'Hello, I'm Rosalie. I know, not much of a family resemblance is there?'  
They had the same tall frames, she shared the golden eyes with Edward, but the blond man had almost black eyes. But she was right, their hair texture was different, their facial features were different and their accents different. Odd, they lived together yet they seemed to come from different regions. And Carlisle decidedly spoke with older vocabulary.

'I see you look well, Murtagh. It is almost time for you to leave us?'  
Rosalie looked at Carlisle. Edward hoped the man would keep them here longer. He was tired of this existence. He didn't know if he could stand to live between these fences for another decade.

'It's not up to you to force a girl to give up all her mortal dreams. You have no idea how tough it is to have to be put together again after your dreams were stolen from you.'

'So it seems. Mister and miss Platt, you'll be able to leave come morning.'

They chatted for a little while after which Esme was given a bedroom.

Carlisle and Edward retreated to the living room and Rosalie went back to Emmett for some private time.  
'I wonder where Jasper went?'

'He went to the back of the garden when the girl came through the gates. He's terrified of injuring anyone after the mishap of yesterday.'

'What do you think about Esme?'

'She's a beautiful and charming young girl.'

'You're barely any older.'

'Physically maybe, but please, just thinking of her that way would be wrong.'

'Every human being, even wrinkled grannies, are too young for you that way. And a good amount as vampires as well… You and I both know you are still the same mental age or maybe a little bit older than you were three hundred years ago… You can call it wrong all you like, but you would be lying to both yourself and me if you said you didn't think about the possibility.'

'Of course I did, Edward. I don't like this either. I just know that this is the right thing to do. We're anomalies of nature. We shouldn't exist. No one should have the power to conquer death. There is no way to live together with humans with our condition. Within my first two years, I could barely keep myself from killing every person I smelled when I lived in the sewers of London. And once I went outside, I killed you and Rosalie.'

'We were bleeding to death on the streets.'

'It isn't right. We shouldn't exist. Living here, removed from human life, is the only way we can live without sin.'

'You can't possibly expect us to happily live on this piece of land for the next thousand years?'

'Jasper attacked someone for a scratch.'

'Because he's been used to human blood for over a century before he came here and that man was bleeding.'

'Do you expect no one to bleed in the city! Besides, Rosalie is right. She's a gorgeous, stunning, breathtakingly warm human being. I don't want to destroy her future!'

'You do like her', puzzled, Edward couldn't help but look deeper. 'She calls to you… If her blood only smells half as good to you as it seems in your memory…'

'Edward, stay out.'

Esme sneaked out of her room. Something was up with this family and her father's strange accident.

'Her blood sings to- for the love of God, Carlisle. Keep her here!'  
'I can't Edward, I can't.'  
'You can if she figures it out. You know the code.'  
'She won't figure out. She'll leave in eight hours.'  
'I'm going to tell her.'  
'Edward no!'

Esme overheard the last part as she stood still in the hallway. Why would they keep her here? She had to get out. She'd find another way to get her father. She sneaked to the door and ventured out while the men were bickering.  
The garden was positively scary in the moonlight. All the vibrant colours had been swallowed by the black night. She quietly edged towards her horse that stood in the garden.  
There could be wolves out there but she just had to risk it. Something moved by the fountain. Esme froze. A creature up righted itself.

It stalked towards her, there were dark splotches on the shirt of the thing she now recognized as a man. Esme held her breath. Edward and Carlisle were inside. Could this be Emmett or Jasper? These people seemed civiles though, the man edged closer to her as one might approach a pray. 'Miss, what are you doing outside?'

The clouds drifted from before the moon and the person became brightly lit by the moon. The stains were all over his clothes. Blood. His canine teeth sharpened and his eyes.  
She gasped for breath and ran towards her horse.

'Miss!'

The high grass hid the fallen statue from her view. She fell and in an attempt to shield her face, her hands grasped for the ground and landed on a piece of broken marble. The tang of blood was enough to make Jasper lose his newly found composure.

There was no mistaking as to whether this was the creature that attacked her father. A vampire.

'Jasper, no! You're better than this!'

Jasper. The other brother. If this was Edward's brother than… God, they had been in the company of not one, but a house full of vampires!

Edward lunged for the honey haired man and Carlisle appeared next to her.

'Are you hurt?'  
Esme nodded. If the other vampire attacked her, and Carlisle was a vampire as well, why didn't he?

'My leg. My hands are fine, it's only a scratch.'

He scooped her up like a bride. Somehow she just couldn't not trust him. Once inside he brought her to the living room and lit a lot of candles before coming closer.

'I am sorry Esme, but if you want me to have a look at your leg, you'll have to lift your skirt.'

'I thought you weren't a doctor?'

'No, but I read every book there is to know about medicine and anatomy.'

She lifted her skirt and the problem immediately became visible. 'That's broken.'

'It certainly feels that way.'

His golden eyes had become dark. Was that even possible? She didn't know if it made him look more terrifying or more beautiful. In a pale face with even features and pink lips, the dark eyes were very contrasting but she couldn't look away from them.

'Are you a vampire as well?'  
His icy hands fell still.

'Because if you aren't, how can you live with that creature?'

'He was brought to us by an enchantress. Who, at my request, bound us to this place for our safety and the safety of the people as long as we could unwillingly cause harm.'

'How long have you been living here?'

'Do you wish to know?'

She looked him over again. It explained his vocabulary. So he wasn't raised this way, he was probably born a long time ago. She didn't want to know whether this handsome man was older than her dead grandfather.

'But you haven't always lived here?' 'No, I was a London based pastor in my previous life. I lived in the sewers of London a while afterwards, but since then I've been here. Edward, Rosalie and Emmett haven't known anything else since they became what they are now. Maybe it's better this way.'

'Doesn't it become boring?' He disappeared and appeared shortly after with medical equipment. 'It does', he replied while preparing to make a casting.  
'How did you get the supplies, books or food if you can't leave?'

'This woman I spoke of, she can see the future as well. She drops by from time to time and gives us what we need. She says that the future has plans for us all but she refuses to tell us out of fear she'd influence us. She must have seen you two would come.'

'Why do you have medical supplies when no one here can be injured?'

'I always wanted to become a doctor. I know it's a dream that will never come true but I could learn as much as I could and use my children as practice material. It's not like they got something better to do and they can sit still for hours on end.'

'Your children?' It was too good to be true. An immortal courteous god couldn't possibly be a bachelor.

'I created Edward and Rosalie shortly after I became a vampire. Apparently it's a big sign of self-control if you can create without drinking from them until they die, but I don't see it that way. However, I made them like this. I see them as my responsibility now that they got to live this life.'

Esme nodded. How did she end up here in a supernatural situation? Maybe she just hit her head while riding her horse. Maybe she was just lying in the grass somewhere.

'I'll have to set it first, I'm afraid it will hurt.'

'Do what you have to do, doctor.'

She squeezed the arms of the chair as he placed his hands, cool and calculated on her legs. He counted down, but it was all fuzzy in her head. He twisted and her leg seemed to be burning. It hurt so much. She didn't know something could hurt this much. He gently touched her face and she realized she was crying.

'The pain will go away, Esme. I guarantee you. You'll be able to dance again.'

'I've never danced,' she said shakily, 'never had someone to dance with.'

'You'll find someone.'

Edward came back inside with the blood covered vampire. Esme gasped and grasped for Carlisle.

'Miss Platt, I'm terribly sorry for my behaviour. I should know better by now. I know you're no food.'

'Thank you, Jasper. Though I wouldn't have run if you didn't pull that menacing-creeper-in-the-dark act. Just a simple hello would have done.'

'I did, something along those lines.'

He had, she realized. 'I'm sorry, Jasper.'

The two boys left them alone after wishing them a good night.

Esme and Carlisle remained, talking about the few books she had read, views on life, god and learning.

'Are you two still up? It's dawn.'  
Esme looked out of the window. Edward was right.  
'Carlisle, she knows our secret, she can't leave. Not without…'

Carlisle looked at him. A staring contest transpired between them. She didn't know what to think of it.

'You have to Carlisle, I know that you don't want to but it doesn't make it less true. It's a fact.'

'Can someone explain to me what is wrong?'

'Our existence should be kept secret from humans. If they find out, they are to be killed or transformed.'

'But, my father!'

'He doesn't know, technically speaking. But you definitely do.'

'So keep me here, but please, let my father go. My mother is nothing without him. She needs him in the bakery and she loves him so much. Please, he can explain I can't come but at least that way, she'll get word of me.'

'It could be arranged.'

 **~.~**

And so it happened that Esme's father was sent away and Esme remained. She was free to hobble through the entire mansion and garden. Aside from Jasper, no one seemed to have any trouble with a human walking around.  
She struck up conversations with everyone around the house and got to know them all in their turn.  
Edward always had an entertained smile when talking to her though his outlook on life was quite pessimistic, taking after his father figure.

Rosalie was a nice and refined lady who also seemed to hate her life. She didn't hate what she was though, only that she couldn't get any kids. Esme understood it. She was still quite young but had always seen herself as a mother figure for her friends. Having a child just seemed right. She wanted to take care of people and cherish them. In due time Rosalie told her she wasn't much older than Esme and trusted her with her backstory.

Emmett was a bulky lad whose family had been in the timber business. He called winding up here the ultimate bout of luck. 'He patched me up better than anyone could've. I was bleeding like a pig when Rosalie dragged me in. I thought I knocked on heaven's doors and an angel opened up. At which hospital do you get in and end up better than before? Forever? And I got an angel by my side for free. Now, that's what I call luck.'

Jasper had been in the army before, he told her after a couple of weeks. His eyes were still reddish and he made sure he had plenty to drink before he approached her, but he tried. During his time in the army, he was attacked and turned by a woman leading an army of vampires. Jasper turned out to be a gifted vampire who could influence emotions. The woman, Maria, used this to her advantage. For over a hundred years, he drank human blood and killed other vampires, including those of his own battalions once they passed the newborn phase. Maria sounded like the monster of legends. Especially because Jasper felt the emotions of those he killed and injured.

She pitied him enormously. Plagued by depression and guilt, Jasper roamed around somewhere in France when he stumbled upon Alice. She was gorgeous, vibrant and lively. She was everything he wasn't but wished to be. But most of all, she oozed hope.

She offered him a way out of his suffering. There was a way to break the endless cycle of bloodlust and killing. And after an initial amount of time adapting, there was a chance. A chance of a future.

She brought him to Scotland and introduced him to the three vampires already living in the mansion. Jasper knew that locking him up was probably the best thing to do. If he were her, he would have locked himself up as well. He still wasn't stronger than his impulses. Attacking her father proved that. Yet, he hoped that one fine day he could leave this place and start his happy ending. Jasper hoped it was with this Alice. He knew they were mates from the second he smelled her.

That caused Esme to ask him a ton of questions. The concept sounded quite intriguing. The idea of a perfect someone to spend an eternity with sounded heavenly. If every vampire had one, that meant there had to be someone out there for Carlisle and Edward.

Carlisle, he still remained the most interesting person in the household. She could easily spend hours with him and only find herself wishing for more hours to be together. He believed in education for women and gave her a ton of books on the subjects she was interested in. But she barely found any time to read between sleeping, eating and talking with the people in this house.

 **~.~**

One day though, it all went south.  
'Don't you ever get lonely, Carlisle? I know you care about these people but, don't you want a special someone?'

'This is the best place for us to be. It would be selfish to risk human lives just because I want to hold hands with someone.'  
'You shouldn't condemn yourself to solitude because of this. Keeping people safe is important to you, I am sure that whoever loves you will accept that and help you keep others out of harm.'  
'Perhaps.'  
Esme hissed as she pushed herself upright. Her casting had been off for a couple of days now but her leg had weakened considerably. He was with her instantly.

'Don't be so hard on yourself.'  
'Funny thing for one who is so disciplined he barely allows himself to have anything nice and feels guilty for every breath he takes.'  
He only lived for others.  
He almost seemed like a medieval monk who focused solely on serving.

'By all accounts miss Platt, don't hold back.'

She blushed fiercely. 'I'm sorry. You've shown nothing but kindness and here I am, judging you like I know everything.'

'You are not wrong in your deductions, though they could be delivered less harshly. Honesty is a rare trait in people.'

'It's just that… You are such a good person. You don't have to be alone here. You're no monster. When my father and I bled, you only helped. You could even try and become a doctor. You have such strong discipline. I doubt you could harm a fly.'  
'I can't have anyone around me. It's not that I don't want to. It's my curse.'

'There is no curse, Carlisle. At least not one that can't be broken. You call yourself a monster for what you are. But how can you know you are the monster you think you are? You've been here for God knows how long. You have never tried to live with humans so how can you know you are a monster to them?'

'Have you seen me in the sun? I'm not human looking. And that's in the sun. Don't tell me you looked at Edward, Rosalie and me and thought "oh well, nothing abnormal about that eye colour, their perfect faces and their alluring voices". We're predators, everything about us attracts attention.'

'I've met girls who have all those things and they get attention, for sure. But it isn't in human nature to be suspicious when someone looks gorgeous and acts kind.'

Esme had noticed it. It was hard to not consider all these vampires attractive. But they didn't lure her in their spell. Well, the others didn't. If they were all just as attractive than her heart would not only skip a beat when she heard Carlisle's warm voice and he wouldn't be the only one she dreamt of at night.

She knew now that Edward could read minds, but she had to give up on not thinking about certain things after two days. If she was to stay with them, it was impossible to never let her mind wander. What she did try was get her heartbeat up every time she saw one of the boys and girls. If vampires did have such keen hearing they could talk across the floor levels without her noticing, they could hear her heartbeat as well. And her heartbeat was always particularly fast with Carlisle. Especially when he laughed. Esme's tummy always fluttered when he did.

But every once in a while, tears would come to her at night. Carlisle refused to think about leaving the mansion but Esme simply couldn't live out the remaining fifty years of her life here away from her parents and human interaction. But a more pressing matter was that she fell more in love with this immortal being each day. But if vampires could smell their soulmate, Carlisle would know. Yet he didn't make any move towards her. She couldn't spend eternity looking at a man she could never have.

That had been the good thing about Callum. They mutually cared about each other and wanted to stimulate each other's intellectual curiosity and could talk about all personal matters. But Carlisle looked at her the way Callum did but she didn't. And each day his smiles started to hurt more than they cause joy. Yet she couldn't keep herself from spending time with him. Because he desperately needed to smile. Her heartbreak was worth his happiness.

Sometimes though, it was so easy to pretend. When after a particularly good discussion they silently looked at each other, sitting close to one another. She could swear electric sparks were tangible in the air. But the next moment he looked away and the moment was lost.

It shouldn't have surprised her that a smart and gorgeous vampire who might be over a century old wasn't interested in a young girl with uneven skin and frizzy hair who had barely read fifty books. Of which she read thirty in the last couple of months.

'Esme, your faith in my control is unwavering. But I doubt my control would be.'  
'You've lived with me for months. What difference do another five thousand people make? Even Jasper doesn't lunge for me anymore when I cut my finger while dicing an eggplant.'

'Well of course, no one dares to harm you in this house because-'

'Because of what, Carlisle?'

'Because hurting you would kill us and cause the resentment of others in this house.'

'Why wouldn't it be bad to hurt another person? Maybe you all just needed me as a test, a little sample of co-existence to prove to yourselves you could do it.'

'Esme, could we please stop talking about this? We're walking in circles.'

'We're only walking in circles because you're too stuck in your own head to accept that life can be different! You don't even want to consider leaving this place because you're too frightened of yourself. You deny yourself and everyone in this house freedom to move and meet people and discover new things only because you're afraid of making mistakes.

I don't think you'll make mistakes, Carlisle. But even if you do I have no doubt you bring more good to the world than harm and I'll be damned if I have to look at all of you living here and hating yourself for all of eternity. This house is a tomb! Are you really living if you keep repeating everything you do day after day within the same confinements without ever progressing? To me, that sounds like the description of purgatory.'

Esme stormed towards the window, arms crossed. She couldn't build a life with him if he refused to leave this damned place. Not that she ever could. He didn't love her and never would. Because they weren't mates. At first she had tried to comfort herself in the fact that maybe, they couldn't smell the scent of their soulmate if the other was still human. Since mating was a vampire thing, it seemed logical.

But Jasper said Alice was still human, a witch, but human.

Carlisle remained silent behind her while her eyes were fixed on the fence. The air between them was sizzling. She'd never shouted at him before today. She had always tried to be understanding.

'Why do you care so much?' Her posture stiffened when she realised he was right behind her. She turned around.

Of course it didn't help that he wore a dark blue shirt which made his pallor and hair stand out even more. The shawl-collar vest with ornate silver embroidery accentuated his small waist but his shoulders still seemed so wide she felt small.

'Because, I-'

There was no going back if she said it. And he would never say it back. But why did he seem so desperately hungry for her words?

'Esme?'

He stroked her hair and inched closer still. They could almost kiss if she stood on her tippy-toes. She laid her hand over his. Had she been wrong? This certainly seemed like he was about to kiss her?  
The moment was broken when he looked up though. His eyes closed and he bit his lip. As he straightened up Esme turned around as well. Someone was running towards the porch. Edward and Jasper vamp sped out of the house and opened the gates.  
The pale blue dress of the woman sparkled in the sunlight, but her skin didn't. A human that intentionally came here. She had never seen her but it must be Alice. The woman hugged Jasper, nodded at Edward and then ran to the house. The soft running steps came towards this room.

'Esme, I'm so sorry! It's your father. He won a baking competition today during your village fair. But another competitor whose shop was going bankrupt shot him. He's dying.'

She hadn't seen her father since the day they sent him away and told her they would keep Esme hostage. And now she never would.

'Can I still reach him in time?'

'Maybe, I see scenario's in which you make it in time and in which you don't. I'm so sorry, I only saw it today while I was coming here. The man must have only now decided to kill your father.'

'Carlisle, James is following me with Victoria. I've managed to run from him for years though I knew he's been getting closer to my trail lately. You have to hide me, please?'

'Of course, how could I not, Alice?'

Esme looked up at Carlisle. He seemed crestfallen all of a sudden.

'Esme, you've got to leave. I wouldn't want to keep you here. It's your last chance to see your father.'

'But, the code?'

'Fuck the code, neither I nor my children will tell the tale. No one of the Volturi will ever have to know.'

'Okay, I guess. I'll come back as soon as I can.'

'No, you can't. These people hunting Alice are dangerous. You need to stay away. I don't want any harm to come to you.'

'But she's human too!'

'She's a witch, a seer and this are her problems. You don't need to get involved. Esme, please. We all want you to have a safe and happy life. But there is nothing for you here.'

Nothing could have hurt her more.

'Fine', she snapped.

Within five minutes she was packed. Once outside the fence, Alice magicked her to her village. She barely had any time to say goodbye to them and she didn't have any way to find them again.

 **~.~**

Esme was in time to say goodbye to her father, but without a man to lead the bakery and only two women to bake they were in big trouble. One person of course, was so gracious to lend a hand. Charles Evanson decided that his beautiful little Esme would never get to leave the village again.

Depressed and mourning the loss of her father and the five most amazing people she ever, she accepted. She already lost so much, she didn't want to lose her father's bakery on top of that. Besides, what good would it do to say no? She knew everyone in this town, there were no good men she could wait for and neither did she care for them. There was only one man she would willingly marry but as he said, there was nothing for her in that house, not even his heart.

Years passed and Charles was gentle enough at first. He was controlling but Esme had nothing to hide. He tried to make their home as comfortable as possible and gave her widowed mother a nice room. They put a lot of their energy in the bakery and the hard labour helped her drown out the heartache. But just as she was accustomed to being married to someone and started caring for him, things again took a turn for the worse.

Her mother started getting ill and over time, the straining work in the bakery became too much. They had to employ a new work force they had to pay.

Not long after, Esme got pregnant and soon was too tired and sick to work. Charles was tired and frustrated most of the time. But with Esme not being able to work so much, he became resenting toward the woman he married and her mom.

Esme miscarried and that finally broke Charles. Without the pregnancy, he forced her to start working full time again. She had barely worked the last four months and to what point? Staying at home hadn't saved the baby.

Alcohol seemed to clear his head of his troubles. But when he came home his wife's face instantly made him angry. Because of her bakery he had to get up early each day. Her lazy ass couldn't even bring a baby in to the world.

When her mother died he had no qualms about hurting her anymore. There was no one in the house to hear Esme's screams as he hit her and forced her wifely duties on her. Why should he be kind to a woman who couldn't provide him with children. He wanted a big family and a wife who was grateful for everything he gave her. But she barely smiled and read a book instead of massaging his tired feet.

When Esme became pregnant again, the fear became too much. She'd told Charles but he kept forcing himself on her. She had to keep on working in the bakery, since resting hadn't helped last time. She was bound to lose another baby this way, especially with the beating. She had to get away.

She packed a little bag and hid it behind a bag of oats in the cupboard. At four she told Charles she was going home to prepare dinner like she did every day. Charles let her go, her only unaccompanied walk she was allowed. She took her bag and left for the postal coach that left at 4.30. She paid them with the coins she had managed to collect the last few years since Charles never gave her money unless she went to the market.

It wouldn't get her very far, but hopefully far enough. She could figure out what to do from there.

 **~.~**

'Esme has run away from her husband because she's pregnant. She's going to lose the baby and kill herself.'

'Does Carlisle know?'

'No, I didn't even tell him when she married the oaf.'

'How different her life would have been, if only Carlisle told her what he felt.'

'If only her father hadn't died and Carlisle would have allowed her to stay with us. We both would have died and turned two weeks later… There were many ways in which it could have worked out. He was about to kiss her, you know?'

'I know, that was one of the times it was awful to be in his head. All that self-contempt, love and desire mangled together. She'd really done it, she managed to break through his wards during that talk. His self-control was slipping. From the second she turned away he imagined different ways to kiss her or to tell her he loved her. But instead he settled on breaking her heart because he thought it was the right thing.'

'It's sad, really. I wish I could have waited to run in. I didn't know I was breaking a moment. I got the vision of that conversation days before. I didn't know if it had already happened. I only realised when I stepped into that room that I had ruined it.'

'In the end, it was Carlisle who decided to send her away. Not you.'

'Shouldn't we tell him his mate is going to die very soon?'

'Definitely not. He's going to prevent it. She's already twenty-six and he isn't going to give in to his wishes as long as she's human. She has to be dying or transformed before he allows himself to be with her.'

'We should keep a watch on her though. We don't want her to actually die.'

'How is she going to die?'

'Well, she'll be living in a town at the Scottish border. She'll work as a columnist for a women's magazine. Two days after the death of her baby she'll throw herself off of a cliff or giant rock. I don't know the area. I've had the vision a couple of times but refrained from telling anyone in case it changed. But it doesn't. I got it from before she was pregnant. But it could have still gone multiple ways. But now that she's left Charles, I see no other scenario. It's always the same. She falls to her death and is shortly after discovered by some men who were out hunting deer. They bring her to town and put her in the morgue but she's still alive. Barely. And either she dies of her injuries or-'

'Or we get her out of there or become the deer hunters.'

'Yes, good Edward. I knew you'd understand.'

'Do you happen to know which place she's at?'

'No. All I know is that she took a post coach.'

'I could try looking for her from her town but I'm no tracker. I hope she isn't too far along because it'll be hard to find her.'

 **~.~**

Esme hadn't gotten far. The coach stopped at the Scottish border. It was five hours away from her village. Charles only had to take the same coach to get here. She left the inn next thing in the morning and traveled until she was five towns down the road in a small city where the coach from her village didn't pass. It would have to do. Now she only had to rent a room and find a job. She ended up with two jobs, one as a columnist and one as a teacher. She enjoyed teaching and working with children. And sitting at the typewriter made her feel incredibly important and mondain. If only Carlisle could see her.

A grown up woman jostling two jobs might be worthy of his affection. Oh Carlisle, if he hadn't wanted her then, why would he want a tainted version of her now? She barely had any joy or hope left to give. The only thing she had was love for her pupils and babe and fear for her husband.

Three months later, Esme's life took a turn for the worse for the last time in her life when her baby boy, who had been born with gorgeous brown hair and pink skin, died in her arms. Esme accepted it. Everything she had ever loved in life had left her. The baby didn't break pattern. Returning to Charles would mean her death but- there was no point in living anymore. What was there left in the world to give her joy? She might as well put an end to it. Now that she lost the child she was already dead inside.

Cradling the baby to her chest, she walked into the woods. The quiet and peaceful nature was a good place to die. She hoped God wouldn't judge her too harshly for ending her life this way. She didn't mean to sin. She just couldn't go on this way.  
And with one final breath, Esme Anne Platt ended her human life.

 **~.~**

Edward hoped no one would ever have to see someone they cared about fall to their death. He hoped no one would ever have to hear the sickening crunch of breaking bones and pierced skin. He gathered what was left of the young girl they had once come to love as family. Even if they revived her, could they ever put her back together again?

It wasn't uncommon for Carlisle Cullen to not feed for over a week. Though when he came back from his shift at the hospital even he recognized he had to feed soon. But Alice, his most recent daughter, begged for his attention. She had trouble with a vision and it was agreed upon by all that she shouldn't be alone when she had those.

He finally managed calm her hysteria. Ever since she became a vampire and lost her magic powers she barely had any control over her visions. But they had been enhanced. She got them more frequently now instead of having to focus on someone's future. They felt much more vibrant according to her and sometimes the intensity scared the ten year old vampire.

'Someone is coming. Someone is coming, Carlisle.'

'No one hunts us anymore, dear.'

'They aren't hunting us.'

'Do you see who?'

Alice remained quiet. They both smelled Edward coming. He was relieved his son was finally coming back after four months. From the second they killed James and didn't have to run anymore, Edward came and left with the wind. Sometimes he stayed home for a year, sometimes he was gone for months. But each time Carlisle missed him terribly.  
He understood though. Rosalie, Edward and he had lived in that mansion for two hundred and fifty years. He wanted to see the world.

Carlisle had been happy to buy a place and take up on medical studies. Helping people had come as easy as breathing to him. No human scent appealed to him. They smelled just like animals to him, all but one. The blood running from their limbs only tempted him to help them.

'Your mate', Alice smiled. Before Carlisle had any chance to be surprised and upset that his daughter had played him, he heard the faint flutter of a dying hard and the coppery scent of blood.

Carlisle swung open the door just as Edward came in with a woman and a parcel of blankets.

He laid the woman on the dining table. Her caramel hair was matted by the blood from her fractured skull and broken nose. Some of her phalanges pierced the skin of her small fingers. Her white blouse was almost fully brown from seeping up the blood.

'Carlisle, I need you to safe someone for me. There's no other way to keep her alive. You can't nurse her back to health.'

'You were with her?' he growled.

'Only once she fell.'

'You knew where she was?' he asked as he inched closer to the dying woman. He heard her blood sing. It was calling him.

'You can't ask this of me.'

'She's dying, Carlisle.'

'She smells so sweet', Alice temptingly noticed.

'We'll leave you to it.' Edward picked up the bundled package that contained her son and went in search of a funeral home with Alice.

He gently touched her hair. Whenever he thought of her, he imagined her happily married with the children she wanted to have. Perhaps she married a teacher with whom she could talk about many topics and she would bake cookies for his pupils. An idyllic life. Nothing short of what she deserved. But, as it turned out, life hadn't treated her kindly. Edward had been right when he said there was no saving her.

A laboured breath left her lips. Her lips had remained intact and were still as pouty and red as ever. How often had he admired those lips during their talks?  
'I'm so sorry for what happened to you, Esme.' He took a chair and sat next to her. He needed time to process. He couldn't bring himself to rush it like he had with Alice. He'd spent the last ten years mourning her. He had accepted that he would never get to see his mate again. Being alone forever had never seemed horrible until he met her.

The vein in her neck stood out. With each beat, it begged him to please please take a bite. So he did. And it was the sweetest thing he ever tasted. He had never allowed himself to truly taste Edward and Rosalie and had banished all thoughts about how it tasted when he bit Alice.

He had been starving every day up until he bit her. His eyes closed and he grasped her in an embracing. Nothing had ever felt so right. She'd hugged the others when she had been living with them but he had always kept that distance to keep his resolve from crumbling.

He stopped himself. No matter how delicious she tasted, if he sucked her dry there would be no blood left to transform her. He stopped sucking and allowed the venom to seep in her artery. He wanted to hear her voice again.

He bit her wrist. Her voice would never really be the same again.

He bit her other wrist. He wanted to look her in the eyes one more time.

He gently rolled up her skirts. Whenever he imagined it, it had been exciting and passionate. Now he felt as if he was two seconds away from necrophilia. Her legs were broken in so many ways. He couldn't look. He bit her thigh. She would never look at him with those brown eyes again.

'Come back to me, Esme. Please. Don't give up the fight.' Half an hour passed in which Carlisle doubted God like he never had before and cursed every circumstance in life that reunited them like this. Then, the change started.

Carlisle told the hospital he would be ill for a couple of days and sat next to her. Recounting his side of their time together alternating with promises of a future.  
At the end of the first day, Rosalie and Alice shooed him away. They washed and clothed her and gently brushed all of the crusted blood out of her hair. As soon as they were done, Carlisle was there to reclaim his place. The trashing started the second day. Edward and Jasper had to leave. The combined agony of Esme and Carlisle hating himself for inflicting the pain upon her was too hard to deal with. The third day all of Esme's bones had set. She was as pale as the fashionable frilly gown Alice had put her in.  
Carlisle stroked her shiny hair.

'You were right all along, dear Esme. You had faith in me when I didn't have faith in myself. After we killed James and Victoria, we remained close to the human world. I never hurt a fly. I should've just listened to you. Like always.'  
He told her about going to school, how it felt to help patients. He told her about so many things he barely noticed her heart was about to give up. The trashing stopped and Edward, Emmett and Jasper all took up corners of the room to keep the newborn under control. Rosalie and Alice remained by the door, curious how Esme would react.

Her heart stopped and the silence was deafening. Then, a blink. Esme came upright and looked around the room in confusion.

'Esme.'

Her eyes fixed on Carlisle. He wished he could look away. She was devastatingly gorgeous but the red eyes killed him.

'I heard you', she said and fell silent. She touched her throat in wonder.

'I heard everything you said. It didn't take a genius to see you were stubborn. But I didn't think someone would have to die before you listened to all my advice.'

He didn't know what to say. Emmett chuckled, seeing the old man gasping for air like a fish. Esme turned towards the sound.  
'Emmett, I missed you.'

'Missed you too.'

She turned back towards Carlisle. 'I'm one of you, am I not?' Carlisle nodded.

'The logical procedure would be to get you something to eat before you attack anything with a heartbeat because of the hunger. Next we would keep you on these grounds until the initial bloodlust has passed and then gently expose you to the scent of humans.'

'Let's do that. I'll go with you.' She stood and looked around the room.

'When I come back, I'd like to have a talk with Carlisle. _Alone._ We have a long time to catch up, after all.'

They all smiled and nodded. She looked at Jasper. His face was one piece of scar tissue. How had she never noticed before? It screamed danger, but his eyes were finally golden. No longer a danger to humans, she was happy to see. He shot her a smile.

Walking through the hallway she stopped to look at herself in the mirror. She had never worn such a beautiful gown, nor had she ever looked so beautiful. Her skin was even and pale, her hair curly and shiny without frizz… But… 'My eyes.'

'It will go away.'

She had always felt uneasy when she looked in Jaspers eyes. The eyes of a killer.

'You're not a killer Esme, you haven't made a mistake yet.'

'How long before it goes away?'

'Between eight months and a year.'

Eight months of looking like a monster. A year! It might as well be forever.

'Eight months is nothing for us, Esme.'

It's almost as long as carrying a baby, she thought.

'Alice and I have brought your baby to a funeral home. We picked a tiny coffin so when you were ready, you could say goodbye.'

'Oh, Edward.' She threw her arms around him and sobbed. But the tears didn't come. Her baby, her little boy.

'You can't cry.' She'd been cool with being a vampire ten years ago. But currently she longed to look normal and have a good sob.

'Come on.' He gently pulled her arms from around his neck. 'You're a bit strong. Don't hug me too hard. My head is able to fall off.'

'Bloody perfect. I thought you guys were indestructible.'

'We can't be killed by humans, cliffs or bears. But other vampires can kill us.'

'Nice', she replied.

Edward took her into the woods. They walked hand in hand so he could control her when she picked up a scent. Three times the scent of a human wafted towards her. By the third thime, she recognised it as the scent of a human. She learnt how rabbits and birds smelled and then…. 'A wolf', Edward said.

They stalked towards it. Esme was suddenly so overrun with bloodlust she almost jumped and clawed its head off. A voice rang in her head. If you can kill animals in a blink without a second thought, you can kill humans just as easily. She jumped at a tree and clawed her finger nails in the bark and wrapped her legs around it. The wolf looked up. Tiny pups came through the bushes.

'Edward, no', she moaned brokenly. How she yearned for it. She could hear it. The blood rushing through their veins. Poison filled her mouth. She needed it. But if she wanted it, she would kill a mother, and those little pups.

'Stop breathing Esme.'  
She did and suddenly, the smell was gone. Her chest remained still. How odd. How weird it felt not to breathe. He pulled her from the tree and carried her away from the wolf and her cubs. Edward brought Esme up to a fox.

'Go Esme, trust your instincts.' She gave the animal a once over. It was beautiful. But she had to eat. Without feeding she was a danger to everything with a heartbeat. She lunged and kept the animal in her arms. How to kill it? She bit her cheek and twisted its neck. It fell limp in her arms. She brushed aside some of the hairs of its neck and bit down.

'You're a natural, Esme.'

When she arrived back home, the house was empty. Edward left her on the porch and wished her luck. He had told her about Alice's vision and how he found her. 'Good luck.'

'Goodbye Edward, you cunning boy.'

He bowed and took off.

 **~.~**

She tried to brush some of the hairs of the two foxes and three wolves off of her dress. To no avail. Carlisle was already in the hallway when she walked in. He looked as though he had been pacing ever since she left.

'What kind of fool lets his mate go?'

'I just wanted you to have a happy mortal life. You know how it went down for Rosalie.'

'You could have given me a choice.'

'I could have. I just didn't want to hold you back.'

'How about now?'

He swallowed.

'I'm done waiting for you to be ready, Carlisle. You've proven to never take the first step. You only left that mansion when you had to. You only transformed your mate when you had no other chance. As you said, I was right about everything before.'

She pushed his jacket over his shoulders.

'I've spent ten years heartbroken over losing you and cursing myself for not speaking up back then.'

She ripped open the buttons of his vest.

'I am right this time as well.'

'Esme.' The strangled plea made her undead heart jump.

She had just lost her baby. She had killed beautiful majestic animals. She needed this. She needed his touch to comfort her. She'd hoped for heaven but instead she got a second shot at life with the man she loved and these amazing boys and girls. A little family, and they all wanted her to join them.

She pushed his vest down and ripped his shirt. She'd never seen abs, Charles had been pudgy at best.  
Her mouth watered.

'You're mine now.'

He turned her around and pushed her against a wall.

'And what shall you do with me?' His voice was hoarse as he gently unbuttoned her dress, more out of fear for Alice than because he cared for the dress.

'I have a couple of ideas. And all of them involve what we should have done a decade ago.'

'I'm all ears.' He released her. She turned around and pressed her lips to his. He grabbed her hips and carried her upstairs. She felt so right in his arms.

He hadn't thought about how it would be after she woke up. But he wasn't complaining. She jumped to the floor and pushed him onto the bed. It croaked by the sheer force she applied.

'I suppose I should thank you for letting me go. At least I've gotten some ideas about what to do with you.' He growled. The idea of somebody else laying a hand on his mate made him see red. According to Alice it had been an abusive tool who regularly beat her up. If he could, he would kill him with his own bare hands.

She got out of the dress and untied the corset. Alice had done a great job of picking gorgeous lacy things. Did she know what was coming? The little minx.

Every time she loosened the corset, his pants grew and grew.

'Someone enjoys what he's seeing.'

Carlisle buried his head on a pillow. Good thing he couldn't blush. Three hundred years of chastity. And now-

'Marry me. Let us join as husband and wife the proper way.'

'Yes, once I'm done with you.' She smiled and quickly removed her shoes and stockings.

She crawled towards him and pressed her lips against his.

'I love you.'

'I love you too.'

'Forever?'

 _'Forever.'_

 _Tale as old as time_

 _Song as old as rhyme_

 _Beauty and the Beast_

 ** _So, let me know what you guys think. I've been out of it for a while 'cause I was too busy with college and have never written for Twilight before. But it was surprisingly easy to jump in to the first book series I ever loved._**

 ** _I'm thinking about putting a fairytale twist on all of the couples (the stories won't be related to each other though) and maybe adding a nice piece of smut as a second optional chapter but it depends on the demand._**

 ** _Hope you enjoyed, now it's back to studying paleography for me._**


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